


Danse Macabre

by PlumTea



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-14
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2017-12-11 20:23:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/802839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlumTea/pseuds/PlumTea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When all else fails, there is an opportunity to rebuild and destroy.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on Joker by Cacoethic: (cacoethic.tumblr.com/post/48003869161)

There were few things that could turn the Judge's lips down. The only people left alive in this colorless universe he was indifferent to at worst, but the purifier was more than deserving of his unbridled hate. The monster even had the courage to regain human form, although the cat could still see the man's shadow morph into the frightening creature that threatened to chomp and chew away at everything.

"And so malice rises up from the dead. You have some gall to come here," spat the Judge, baring his fangs. How was the Batter alive? He distinctly remembered skin tearing beneath his claws, and watching life seep out from glassy white eyes. The Batter had squandered his best weaponry during their fight, along with all his items-

…Ah. How could Zacharie have slipped his mind? As close as he was to the merchant, friendship did little to quell unpredictability. But those ideas were for later. With a flick of his tail, the Judge dismissed all extra thoughts and prepared himself for battle.

He was a mere cat, but a cat with great power. He had defeated the Batter before, and he was willing to shed blood to protect what little was left. His white fur bristled with energy, prepared to let loose some of his Competences and reduce this man to bloody shreds once more. "You have nothing, you pathetic crusader. Come. I'll rid you from this world again."

The Batter glanced at the cat, but did not answer. The Judge expected at the very least, a look of hate, or a lunge forward for one handful of fur, but all he met was a bland look of disapproval. Instead of facing his enemy with rage, the Batter seemed to be as bothered as if an ant were crawling over his arm. "I don't have time to fight you."

"As blunt as always, but your way with words is poor at best. There would be no other reason to visit my humble being unless you planned to continue with your misguided quest of purification. I will not fall without a fight." Still, no attack came.

"No," flatly replied the Batter, and the Judge paused mid-declaration to shoot a bewildered stare at the monster. "I came to talk."

Talk. The very concept was a joke in itself, almost enough that the Judge could feel his Cheshire grin perking up his cheeks. Here he thought the only way the Batter knew how to talk was with blood! Scratching a mark onto the floor- a precautionary activation for Critical Aneurysm, just in case - the cat settled down on the floor, tail swishing back and forth. "Very well. Speak."

"I intend to keep everything pure-"

"Indeed, you did a fine job of bleaching this world into a wasteland."

"…But purity shouldn't be so flat."

The implications were steep, and twanged at the Judge's suspicions. His clever words left him as he thought, thought, thought. As strange as that sounded, for once the chime of purification rang with hope. "I see. You wish to rebuild." He couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out of his throat, "Isn't that dreadfully impure to you?"

"It will be pure. I guarantee it." The Batter spoke with frightening resolve, not even the slightest waver in his voice. It was enough that the Judge nearly activated the Competence, before he caught his paw a mere inch from the seal.

How foolish. To think this man had been defeated, and all death had done made his resolve stronger. If it became any more powerful, that resolve would consume everything again. With a wave of his paw, the sealed Competence vanished, and the Judge rose up to pad on his paws. "I see. But you need help. Even our late Queen was unable to build an entire realm by her lonesome self. The smallest number of people needed to create a universe is two. You need my help."

"Essentially."

"I will do everything in my power to correct the err of your ways. The power to create is infinite, a magical miracle that gives birth to something from nothing. This miracle isn't to be wasted on you and your thoughtless destruction."

The Batter responded with a flippant shrug before their forms dissolved into the Void.

Deep darkness was almost comforting after blindingly bright whites and grays. The Judge found his eyes trailing towards the green blossoms stamped on the bottom of the Void, reflecting the dead worlds they held in their centers. The flowers lay there, dried and preserved to be trampled on. Pitiful, so disgusting! The sooner they had life returned to them, the better, even if it meant following in the shadow of a monster.

"How do you plan on reforming these?"

"She gave me a few hints."

"The Queen?" The Batter didn't answer, keeping his back to the cat, staring off into the black expanse. Doing anything but reforming worlds, if the Judge had anything to say about that.

A warp twisted the space next to the Judge, and out emerged a single Elsen with a crooked back. Even without spectres to haunt him, the boy looked as if he was about to curl into himself, and could hardly stand in one place without shaking. "I…decided to say yes…" wheezed the Elsen, wringing his hands together, "I want to be forever safe…but…I don't want someone else…to make things unsafe for me."

Even the frightened Elsen had a startling amount of determination for someone reduced to shaking fits. For a moment, the Judge felt a bit shameful that he had resigned himself to being a hermit in a wasteland so easily, instead of seeking out a solution. "Another one of your candidates for Guardians?"

A slight nod was all the answer he needed. "One Zone for each of us, and Zone 0 will broken apart and assimilated into each of the three zones."

Almost instantly, the Judge's claws were out. "Zone 0 is my home."

"Whatever," sighed the Batter. Politics were so unbecoming of him.

Pain erupted from his ankle as cat claws dug deep into flesh. "It is not a trifling matter, Batter. You are not destroying my home so you can throw it into your pool of bets!" Man and feline shot hateful glares at each other, almost ready to lunge at each other, before a cracked voice cut through.

"Hhh…Why don't we make it…a neutral zone? No fighting there…or something like that."

The Judge seemed surprised an Elsen had said something intelligent, but settled to scratching at his ear instead of preparing to claw the Batter to shreds. "An acceptable idea. A single constant in a sea of newborns will be a relief to us all."

The only indication of agreement the Batter gave was a tilt of the head, but set his gaze off the small flower of Zone 0. There was nothing fantastical during those few moments when the Batter stared and stared at the Zones. No great spells, no swinging of a magical bat, just a deep stare that yielded nothing, until all three heard a great snap. The spotless void of the purified Zones warped, and cracked, dissolving into white dust that swirled out of the green flowers. Entire worlds now danced atop the flowers, mere particles before the moment of creation. To give birth to a universe, at least two minds were needed, but this time, there were three; two guardians and a new King.

Even in the yellow-walled basement of Zone 0, Zacharie felt the waves of power, the final burst of reformed worlds coming back into being. The wave of power burned his fingertips, but even that made him laugh. They had succeeded. It was time.

Reaching for his backpack, he turned it upside-down. What was once empty now spat out Luck Tickets, jars of eyes, and prizes locked in small chests. Restocked and back in business, Zacharie slung his bag over his shoulders, and set off to prepare things on his end.


	2. Navigatoria

**Enter your name.**

Recall, recall who you are. Anything beyond the black expanse. A name, a name signified that you were alive. Without that, what are you?

**Are you a boy, or a girl?**

That she could answer easily. She was definitely a girl.

The blackness around her wriggled, as if was unhappy with something she chose. She wanted to sneer at that; any moment the blackness was displeased with her was a small victory for her side. Hours? Days? Years? She had long lost track of time and numbers, only floating aimlessly and formlessly through the Void. All her memories were cloudy, but the obscurity was a single, ever-present constant in her small moment of existence. But today, the darkness was asking her questions.

So it spoke.

**Welcome, you will be let out in Zone 0. Good luck.**

She barely had time to wonder what or why this was happening before the endless expanse cracked and fragmented. Down she fell, away from the black shards that dropped around her like rain, into a bright light swallowing up her world. Warm, it was too warm; her eyes felt like they were sizzling in her sockets. She squeezed them shut as she fell and fell and fell.

Thump, her hands touched something hard. The rest of her body followed suit, dropping down onto the slick ground. The pain was one thing, but all she could focus on the fact that her hands, for once, felt something. Her eyes snapped open to take in shades of yellow. The blackness had shattered into a world dyed in brightness.

Where was she? Hopping up onto her feet, she looked around. No people, no signs of life, just a yellow platform and an infinite sea of gray. Wandering over to the side, she dipped her hand into the liquid that stretched on forever in almost all directions. Plastic. Shaking the liquid off her nails, she followed the single path, deeper into the floating island of yellow.

A golden building that scratched the sky greeted her, looming tall and casting a shadow over the whole island. The cool breeze whipped around the building and ruffled her clothes. A sigh of relief slid out of her throat the moment the wind touched her cheeks. She could feel the air, she could feel something! What a wonderful change this was!

But she wasn't alone. In the middle of yellow expanse sat a man, staring out into the waves of plastic lapping up against the bridge. She hadn't been expecting any people, and this one was certainly strange. A white sweater hid his large neck, and a mask obscured his face. When she drew a bit closer, she could see it in full detail- a cat's face contorted into a frightening smile. That smile with painted jagged teeth finally looked her way, and the man called out, "Hello, there! You came here faster than I expected."

He spoke so familiarly, as if he'd known her all her empty life. Cautiously and lightly, she walked closer, but kept herself a few paces away from him, just to be safe. Finally, she spoke, and was surprised at how airy her own voice sounded. "Excuse me?"

Hopping off the block that he was perched on, the man smoothly transitioned into a dramatic bow. "Good day, I'm Zacharie, the traditional game merchant! But now I'm assuming the role of the expositionary piece to greet you, my dear."

"You were waiting for me?"

"Yes, of course! It's only normal to have a bit of tutorial and backstory before the plot begins, after all."

Suspicious, but he seemed friendly enough. What good fortune to see a real face for once. "You know a lot, then?"

"I follow the script to a T, if that's what you're wondering."

"In that case, can you tell me who I am?"

The moment those words left her lips, his cheery demeanor was replaced with hollow silence. Contemplating? There was no way he would need to consider anything if he knew the answer; no luck for her just yet. She could tell he clearly didn't have the answer.

"If you are without a name, then I'll give you one." She perked up at that. "What's one more liberty among many? In any case, how does Chéri sound?"

Chéri. She sampled it on her tongue a few times, rolling the taste around her mouth. It didn't seem to be a perfect fit, but it was satisfactory. She'd don it in the meantime, at least until the dark clouds were gone from her mind. "Thank you…Zacharie, was it?"

"Well, it's very hard to call someone the protagonist if they don't even have a name," Zacharie explained, chuckling behind his mask, "But it's not a problem. Shall we move along?" With that, he reached into the pocket of his slim black pants and pulled out a letter. Even from where she stood, she could tell the letter was of grave importance; it was sealed with wax and rimmed with gold. "Take it, it's for you. Go ahead, open it."

He was expecting her, and someone had even had taken the time to write a letter to her directly before she even knew anything but the Void. What was this place? She could feel the alarms in her head start to ring, but hesitantly she took a step forward and grabbed the letter from his hand.

It felt even more regal between her fingers, the textured paper and cool wax greeting her senses. How long had it been since she actually felt something? With a flick of her nail, she cut the wax away and read the contents.

_To the players that arrive,_

_I have a sacred mission for you, one that you must fulfill at any cost. The Zones are filled with spectres, and they must be purified. Join me and we will make this world pure._

_-The King_

The handwriting was fairly legible, but sloped in some irregular places. Not handwriting suited for a monarch, in any case. She half-expected there to be more once she turned the letter over, but that was it to the shortest and most succinct letter she'd ever seen. How unhelpful. Folding it back up and pocketing it, she asked aloud, "What does purify even mean?"

"And now my side-job begins!" exclaimed Zacharie, clapping his hands, "In this case, spectres are malicious ghosts that can only be destroyed by various means. While most are powerless to stop them, there are some who can. So far, there's the King, the two Zone guardians, and then the protagonist. That's you, by the way. As you can see, we're running frightfully low on manpower, hence the King's plight."

"So you called me here to fight ghosts?" The idea seemed a little too fantastical to believe at first, but anything was better than falling down in the abyss of nothingness.

"I suppose you could say that," said the merchant, "Regardless, there are three zones that all need your purifying skills. This," his hand swept across the expanse of yellow, "is Zone 0. The neutral zone, where no spectres are to be found. It must be all the yellow. Maybe spectres aren't fond of the color yellow. That was a joke, by the way."

"So," she took a moment to compose her reasoning, "it's nobody's zone, then?"

"Aren't you clever? Well, I don't see why I shouldn't explain," he said, prodding at a floating block with his shoe, "That's right, this is nobody's zone. Pablo used to come here to do some sweeps of the area, but he hasn't come by in a while. Either way, no spectres to be found around here."

"About that," she asked, fidgeting with her fingers, "How am I supposed to fight these spectres, anyway? They won't go away if I just punch them, right?"

He finally couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing. "You're free to try, but I doubt it will do much good," he choked out between peals of laughter. His body shook with giggles as he rummaged through his other pants pocket, his laughter doing nothing but making Cheri flush with embarrassment. It took a few coughs to get his voice back to normal, and he presented a piece of candy on a string.

Cheri stared. Zacharie stared back. "You expect me to fight with that." She was unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice. It was pretty; a round ball of solid candy wrapped in foil and twisted into a cute shape, but however cute it was didn't change the fact that he was telling her to fight ghosts with candy.

"It's very hard to find conventional weapons in this world," he explained, "Besides, it would be unwise to underestimate the power of a Dummie. They boost the user's stats, plus they have good reach. I can say this for certain. This one in particular used to be utilized by a good friend of mine."

"Then you should probably return it to them, because I don't think I can use them."

"You will use them, because otherwise you'll have to punch the spectres to death. And besides, I can't return it to her. She's long gone." The cheery voice grew dismal word by word, and his back started to curve forward, ever so slightly. "It's her fault, anyway."

A pang of guilt reverberated in her chest, as the air grew tense around her. As much as she told herself that this was an unwise idea, she plucked the Dummie out of Zacharie's grasp. "All right, all right, I'll take your candy weapons."

That seemed to straighten his back a bit. "Excellent. I'm sure you'll put them to good use. Consider this a gift, because if you want any more items for me, you'll have to pay with credits. And don't worry, you don't have to do actual work around here; killing spectres should give you plenty of credits to spend on upgrades. Now come," he motioned for her to follow him as he trailed towards the looming yellow building, "We need to prepare you for transport."

She didn't understand this man at all, but he appeared to be offering her some advice, some twisted, vague advice that she doubted she'd be able to pick up by explanation alone. She followed him, always five paces behind, past the floating blocks and through the building. A cool breeze swept through the wide windows, chilling her until they arrived at a dock of some sort.

As waves of plastic lapped the edge of the dock, the first thing that drew her gaze was a floating red box on the middle. It didn't appear to be malevolent, but hovered with its strong and solid power. She hoped she wouldn't have to fight that block, for she doubted it would ever break, even if the entire world crashed on top of it.

"You might want to keep your eyes out for these on your journey," Zacharie explained, "If you're ever tired, or running low on energy for your special skills, just tap this, and it will heal you to perfection. And of course, it acts as a gateway between Zones. This will be your primary means of transport." He let out a sigh from the bottom of his chest and crossed his arms. "There. Tutorial's over, and you may start your journey."

Cheri cautiously moved forward, past Zacharie and to the red block that pulsed with bright energy. Was it that easy? One touch, and she was out of one place to the other? Away from the blackness of the Void for as long as possible? It seemed to good to be true, too easy, but she wasn't complaining at all. Her finger met with one of the wisps of energy pulsing from the box, and instantly she felt refreshed, wide awake and energized. Incredible, this box was really something.

She was about to touch it when she paused for a moment, and turned back to the merchant. "Um…what about you?"

"Me?" Zacharie paused in his farewell wave at her sudden question.

"There's nobody else here, right? Shouldn't you go to the other zones, so you're not all alone?"

The merchant was silent, frozen mid-wave for a brief second, before he lowered his arm and let out a chuckle. For a moment, Cheri thought he would say something sharp, but instead he muttered a small "Thanks."

"No problem, and I really appreciate-"

"But since you're going to be going on your way, and following the King's mission," he cut in, turning on his heel, "I'll be needed. So go on along. You'll see me again." With that, he walked off into the yellow building that stretched up to the sky, leaving her all alone with the red box.

The red box bounced off her leg, bringing it back into her line of view. So this would take her to the next zone, and on this so-called mission of purification…

Her fingers trembled, shaking the string with the brightly colored candy at the end of it. It was better than floating in nothingness, but was she really cut out for purification? The name of the task was pretty, yes, but did she have the resolve to go through with the ordeal? Zacharie had told her she could quit at any time, but what was after this? Surely nothing but the darkness she had been submerged in before. This was real, solid, and involved people with personalities that she could talk to.

She couldn't go back. She could only go forward, into the unknown.

With that, she reached forward and tapped the block, and a bright light shone around her. She didn't feel any different, but soon, the space around her began to twist and warp. The yellow buildings and plastic sea all blended into one, and down she fell.


	3. Assurdita

Hazy. Syrup clogged her head and honey glossed over her eyes. The world looked too colorful, splotches of reds and greens blurring together into one muddled droplet. Sensory overload, with small flickers of light cutting through. She had to rub out the brightness, the lights and the overwhelming amount of colors with her fingers, until she could finally see past the syrup and honey. 

A dim lamplight, one of many in a stiff row, shone a spotlight down on her as one of the few patches of light in the narrow street. Rusty warehouses close to the ground cast shadows in her path, hungry for any sort of activity inside their bolted-shut doors. No people walked the streets; no signs of life beyond a light tune coming from afar. The light mist that collected in shallow puddles on the ground also swept through the air, making the strings of colorful lights choking each lamppost seem like dancing fairies. 

The music called to her. Upbeat, jovial, waiting to be danced to. The puddles splashed up against her pant legs as she slipped through the narrow spaces between the buildings, away from the sequined lights and dark alleys. A lone nail nicked her arm, letting loose a thin rivulet of blood. The mist and air stung the open wound, but she pressed on, towards the lights in the distance that illuminated the mist.

All she could think of the town was that it was surely one large jewel. Small buildings held hands through strings of colorful lights. Kneeling buildings humbled themselves before a great clock tower in the distance, the only building not swathed with color. No stars shone through the mist, but there were enough on the ground that the ones in the sky were a mere afterthought. It all seemed so dazzling; she had to rub her eyes to keep herself from going blind. 

The streets were stuffed with mirror images of the same person. Same light, rumpled shirts and tailored pants, as if they were about to run off to an office somewhere. Darting black eyes expected the unexpected with every step, sending their spines into shivers every few steps. One, in his frantic hurry, bumped shoulders with Cheri and instantly gasped out an apology. It was so comical that she couldn’t stifle a giggle. His head, more like a cube of cheese than a rounded skull, bobbed up and down as he stammered out apology after apology. “I-I’m sorry! I was on my way to work and hhh…s-sorry!”

“It’s all right, don’t worry about it,” she laughed, patting him on the shoulder. His vibrations managed to snake its way into her bones, so she drew her hand back. The sudden contact made him yelp, and he skittered back, cautiously flitting his eyes towards her. “So, where am I?”

The short boy managed to stop shaking for a few seconds to contemplate her question before wheezing out, “This is um, the great city of Nagnede.”

“In Zone 1?”

“Y-Yes…”

A smile perked up her cheeks. Good, she had made it after all. She offered him a handshake, “Sorry, I’m new here. Is there anywhere I can go for information?”

Her hand seemed to frighten him, as he recoiled as if it were a venomous snake. “N-No, we don’t have any of that. Um…visitor? Are you from the other Zones? We never, um, get visitors…”

Some King that ruled this place. What was the point of having three Zones if none of them communicated with each other? But she would worry about that fact later. “Then, do you mind showing me around?”

He looked like his skeleton would collapse at any moment. Trembling, his eyes flashed from side to side, his fingers tangling and untangling themselves. A thin line of perspiration glossed over his face, but he managed to pick up his mouth into a strained grin. “I…guess so. As long as I don’t miss the festival.”

“A festival?” she practically squeaked out, “That’s great! Is there a holiday today?” When he shook his head, she pursed her lips in confusion, “Then why is there a festival?”

“Uhm…Do you need a reason to hold a festival?” 

To that, she shook her head. It was a little strange for there to be a party for no purpose, but she wouldn’t deny that everyone seemed to be having fun. “I suppose not.”

His legs shook and looked no stable than twigs, but he managed to scamper forward, leaving her with her hand hanging in midair. No warning or indication to follow, just a mad dash and a trail of words. A friendly bunch these townspeople, these Elsens, were. 

By the time she caught up, he had already started his monologue, as if he’d been eerily practiced. “This is the, um, great city of Nagnede. Here we have a harmonious community, and everyone knows each other. We don’t interact much with the other Zones, but if anyone needs to relax, they…uh…come here. We work, but we have to unwind, so we can live…happily. Because without fun, people would remember their fear.” He pointed up to a large billboard that spanned a few buildings, with obnoxiously standout words of ‘Lead your path here- forever safe in the garden of Nagnede’. A little bit too cheery, even amidst all the lights. 

“And spectres? What about those?”

The boy was all wide eyes and parted lips. “Oh-h no. No, nothing like that. Here, coffins d-don’t exist.”

“You mean you don’t bury people?”

“N-No…I mean that, hhh, nobody dies here.”

Cheri found herself to be surrounded by odd things quite often, but this was by far the oddest. At least the curling Void, Zacharie, and banana-yellow towers that scratched the sky had a semblance of life behind them. Empty coffins remained empty. “So how do more of you start existing?”

“Oh no. There’s only been about a hundred of us Elsens.”

“Is that what you’re called? Elsens? Do you have any names?”

He gave her a grimace of all teeth, and she waved off her own question. His shakes had intensified, best to not prod him too much. “You have a Zone Guardian, then?”

She could see his spine straighten up, as something akin to a smile spread itself over his face, “Ohhh. Yes. He’s our benefactor. Kind, um, very kind…he’s one of us. We call him the Head.” A thin finger pointed to the tall tower obscured by mist, “He lives there, but nobody really goes there. He watches over us…and makes us safe…so we can have fun. It’s nice. Very nice…”

Tilting her head up to the sign, bright and pop with bright yellow lights, she couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed. She let out a heavy sigh, as if the sigh would somehow make the town less slow and less dreamy.  

“W-Well, I have to go now. Work.” She raised her hand goodbye, but he was gone by the time she had turned to face him. 

In the busy hubbub of the streets, there wasn’t much to do other than the occasional shoulder bump. The squirming crowd always squeezed their shoulders together, trying their hardest to avoid others even though they all shared the same face and body. A singular mass that insisted on being individual all shuffled together until they were swallowed up by the uniform houses. 

Glancing up at the sign, she traced over its comforting message with her finger in midair before hopping into the crowd. It’s not as if she actually had any sort of direction to go in, so she let the compass in her mind spin and picked whatever the needle stopped at. Right; so she went right. To get a better view, she climbed over fences and pipes with cracked paint, onto the dark green tiles and chimneys. The long alleyways that ran alongside her seemed to stretch on forever, the colorful lights dimming with every step she took. The candid lights lit up the frightening shadows and drove them away,  for without the comfort and safety of color, everything would be downright terrifying. 

A lone Elsen sat on a rooftop, enraptured by the sky and the mist that obscured the stars. Completely relaxed, he sat back as the wisps of breath escaping his mouth mixed with the heavy fog. 

“Hello!” she called out, watching him spring up. Caught in her glance, he waved to her like paper caught in the wind, shivering as she bounded over his way. “Do you mind if I join you?”

When he shook his head, she hopped over, his eyes following her every move, to an almost frighteningly cautious air. After she plopped down next to him, she shot him a friendly smile. “Uh…nice to meet you.” All the frightened ones sounded exactly the same. “What are you?”

“A purifier.” At least, that what she had been deemed. “What are you doing?”

“I…I’m watching the mist.” He turned his head up back to the white mist settling over the town. “The mist…is safe. It hides things that the lights can’t. Underneath it, the lights are more beautiful. Far more beautiful.”

He looked so she looked too, up at the sky. The dense mist that clung to the sky was normally pure and white, but the lights from the city shone up and colored the white with pinks, blues, yellows and greens. 

“Are all the other Zones like this?”

“Only Nagnede. It’s large…and wonderful. Peaceful and safe.”

“What about the other Zones?”

“No…” His voice, still trembling, started to sound more frantic and wild, “Those are scary…only here is safe.”

“But how would you know if you’ve never left?”

The Elsen stared, paralyzed in a single moment. His blackened eyes shook and his lips trembled, shakes that started to travel to the rest of his body. “Ah…that’s…um…”

From the corner of her eye, Cheri saw a flash of white. Something, as if it had been born from the mist, suddenly appeared and was whisked away. Jumping up, she yelled out a thanks before dashing after it, down the rusty pipes and colored lights and to the dark streets. Every time she ran forward, the trail of smoke fluttered just ahead of her out of reach. It was fast, but she was faster, unbothered by splashing through the puddles and dirtying her feet on the cold cobblestones, until, right there-

She screeched to a halt. Before her lay a tall brick wall, far too smooth to climb over, and far too tall to jump over. Rubbing her eyes, she knew, she knew that she saw the white mist ahead of her. It wasn’t an illusion, it wasn’t a dream, she really did see something, but there wasn’t a trace of anyone having been there. Not a footstep, or even a scrape of dirt on the walls. Nothing.

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment, the frustration of being wrong mixed with the confusion of it being so impossible- there had to be a way. A quick check around showed nothing; it was if it had simply passed through the wall. Beneath the palm of her hand, she felt around for any sort of traps or mechanisms, any tricks for a quick escape, but there was nothing but brick and mortar. The bricks were cold, but the wall seemed almost unusually cold, as if she was touching a sheet of ice. 

She jerked her hand back, breathing on her fingers to try to warm them up, when the mortar seemed to break down and billowed out into white smoke. She thought smoke couldn’t be touched, but it wrapped around her wrist and tugged her forward, as if it was trying to pull her into the wall. All around her, the white smoke started to mold into a round figure with small nubs for arms and large, hollow eyes that seemed to tunnel right through it. A large black crack seemed to stretch across its face, until it ripped open to reveal a wide mouth upturned into a fanged grin. It laughed as if it was awaiting her response to a funny joke. She was almost tempted to laugh with it too, at least until something solid slammed straight into her gut. All the air inside her burst from her mouth as she stumbled back, clutching her stomach as soreness started to seep across her midsection. So much for good humor. It giggled, laughing at her pain, and she knew, that this creature made of white smoke, couldn’t be anything but a Spectre. 

In a flash, her Dummie was on her finger, dangling down. Now that she was holding it, ready to use it in a fight, she felt even more ridiculous. Fighting with a piece of candy hanging off some stretchy string? What was this supposed to be, a toy? Was she supposed to throw it? She didn’t know what she could possibly do, so with a deep breath, she slung the Dummie forward, as if it was a yo-yo, and couldn’t help but smile as it collided with the Spectre with a satisfying _thwack._ Its small, ectoplasmic tail was still clutching her arm, so with a yell, she smashed the tail against the wall and watched the Spectre grunt. Served it right! Hopping back, she gave herself a bit of distance, carefully watching it. 

Even in pain, the Spectre still giggled, its nub-like arms waving wildly, bobbing left and right in some sort of lazy dance. She could see its laughter forming solidly in the air before it shot forward and bashed into her shoulder. The blow sent her stumbling backwards, tripping over her feet, but once she found her feet again, the words were drifting aimlessly about, harmless for a single moment. At that moment, she shot her Dummie forward, and with a bang, the laughter crumpled into dust and scattered into the mist. 

The spectre smiled but didn’t move, long enough for Cheri to grit her teeth together, and try to ignore the pain shooting from her side and shoulder. With all her might, she slung her hand back and sent her fist smashing into the Spectre’s jovial face. She didn’t expect smoke to be so solid, but there was definitely some weight beneath her fist, struggling against her until she finally swung all the way down. There was a crackle, and the Spectre let out one last pained giggle before exploding into smoke. The smoke burned her eyes, and she had to close her eyes, dashing out of the cloud, coughing and sputtering. 

Once her eyes opened, she could still feel fire prickling at the corners of her eyelids, but the burning was slowly ebbing away. Watching the smoke carefully, she waited for it to reform, but it remained as formless and airy as ever, until there was nothing in the dead end but the wall and something fluttering in the wind. A piece of paper fluttered down, until it rested on the ground next to a slab of fresh meat, still dripping with green blood. Stopping down to pick it up, she managed to examine the ticket, decorated with curving silver symbols before it vanished into golden dust. Eyeing the meat warily, she stopped down, just to poke it and see if it was real, but the squish beneath her finger definitely confirmed her need for revulsion before that too, vanished into golden dust. Suddenly, words flashed through her mind; 

「Luck Ticket」「Moloch’s Meat」

Whatever that thing was, it was surely gone by now. Slumping against the wall, she pressed her fingers against her injured side and winced at the jolt of pain. No wonder the King wanted them gone, they sure were a pain. A wave of exhaustion finally washed over her, and her limbs finally felt sore and heavy. Maybe this was a good place to take a little nap, beneath the colored lights and heavy mist. 


	4. Oscurita

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! It took a while to get this out, but it should be back updating on a semi-routine schedule now!

 Her head hurt. Why did her head hurt?

Oh, that’s right. She had fallen asleep, right? 

Cheri cracked her eyes open, and spotted something sickly gray in front of her. An animal? She hadn’t spotted any animals before.

That was when she spotted the same bleary black eyes as the spectre she had defeated before. They belonged to a large pack of four legged creatures balancing on their tiptoes with their mouths wide open, their tongues swarming with foul breath. Her heart leapt to her chest as she tried to spring back, only to be blocked by the wall. There was five, no, seven of them, all staring right at her and scraping their toes on the ground. 

She grabbed her Dummie and lashed out, smacking the closest one in the head and sending it to the ground in a fit of whimpers. That sent the flock into a frenzy and they howled, leaping at her. Something in the back of her mind screamed for her to protect the Dummie, so she retracted it into her hand as the creatures battered her with their spindly legs. Their legs didn’t pierce her skin, but they did manage to tear and scratch her arms up quite badly, until they were streaked with small red cuts. 

“That,” she yelled, raising her fist, “hurt!” With that, she slammed her first into the jaw of one of the creatures, sending it crashing into its brethren. They staggered back, trying to regroup, but no longer had they struggled to their feet came her Dummie, bashing them all away with one well aimed strike. They brayed and vanished into dust, leaving Cheri with her haggard breath.

Player has learned「Cookie Cutter」

What was that even supposed to mean? Nothing seemed to answer her, so with a grumble, she whispered “Cookie Cutter”, and suddenly, she saw the scrapes she’d sustained just minutes before close up, leaving nothing but smooth skin beneath bandages.

Neat.

At the same time, she felt a bit of weariness tugging at her nerves, like she was suddenly a little low on blood. Maybe using those strange moves depleted something else inside her? Ah, she’d have to be a little careful using those too often. 

A severed head hopped up to her, and she kicked it aside. Nope, not dealing with all that spectre junk now. 

She froze. Something was sparkling at the end of the alleyway, like a piece of jewelry hanging in the sunlight. One look up at the sky told her it was nighttime, and the thick fog had moved in so much that the building tops were all hidden. Then… what was that light?

A cautious step forward, and it still hung there. Okay, that was definitely no illusion. However, just when she thought she could grab it, the light zipped around the corner and stopped in midair further down the misty street. She nearly let out a gasp, but it still hung there, as if it was waiting for her. 

“You want me to follow you? Fine, but I’m really good at tag.” She broke into a brisk walk.

The more she ran, the worse the fog became. She could hardly see in front of her, and ended up having to drag her hands on the walls just to make sure that she really was still in the city. The glimmer cut through the fog on its own, but whenever she thought that she would catch it, she’d run into another wall and the glimmer would be ahead of her again.

“Hey, stop going so fast,” she groaned and started to run. 

Even when running, it still managed to stay ahead of her, but the closer she got, the stronger the light became. She could make it out now- it was a ring. A ring blazing with a white light floated in midair like a halo without an owner. A crown, more luminescent wire than a solid piece, floated above its head, and on it she saw a lowercase a. Whatever that meant. She felt her heart leap at the sight, stunned by its brilliance. It didn’t move, but bobbed up and down, as if it were pulsing with life. 

Her fingers drifted towards it, just to see what it felt like, but a chiding tsk sounded from behind her and she jumped back, her face red.

“Ah, ah. I wouldn’t touch that if I were you. This one’s particularly violent in hand to hand combat. It might see you as a threat, not an ally.” The familiar toad mask of Zacharie emerged from behind the ring, and she clicked her tongue.

“Scolding me for curiosity?”

“Just a bit of friendly advice.”

“So this is the new player.” A disembodied voice reached her ears, and she couldn’t suppress a jump. Looking to Zacharie, he shook his head in a way that she could feel him smiling behind his mask. Nobody was here where the lights went dim, so…her gaze returned to the glowing white ring. It had no lips to speak from, but there was no other place where a voice could have emerged from. 

“How courteous of the King to come greet you,” Zacharie laughed, waving a hand to the ring almost playfully. “Well, from afar, at least. This is Alpha, first of the King’s loyal servants. The King is addressing you through it.”

She wasn’t entirely sure how a ring could be much of a servant to anyone, but then again, this was a world where rivers overflowed with molten plastic. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” she quickly said, dipping into an elegant curtsey. 

For the longest time, there was no response from beyond the ring, and she feared she had messed up her greeting. How were you supposed to greet a monarch, anyway? Frozen in her curtsey, she wobbled a little before the ghostly voice returned. “What’s your name?” 

Quickly springing up, she was relieved to be out of that infernal greeting, but the voice from beyond sounded almost bored. Not even a minute of meeting each other, and the King was already bored with her? This was the worst! “I’ve been given the name Cheri, your majesty.”

“And this is the King, lord and ruler of the three Zones,” interjected Zacharie, “The great purifier, savior, martyr-”

“Just call me the Batter,” quickly came the voice.

Zacharie’s words came to an abrupt halt the moment he had been interrupted, his hand still hovering in midair. “I suppose that makes things easier,” he admitted with a slight hint of disdain, “Although I am still expecting my 50 credits for the recital.”

“Typical,” muttered the King. 

Silence filled the air once again, and Cheri felt sweat bead at her neck with every passing second. If there was a face before her, it would be so much easier to at least understand what the King was feeling, but all there was before her was a glowing white ring. Nothing there but her own thoughts.

Finally, the King spoke. “The spectres are causing problems. They must be purified. I expect you to do your job.”

“O-Of course! I just finished my first purification, actually-”

“Good.” And with that, the King said no more, and Alpha dissolved into a thousand white sparkles and blew away.

Cheri stared after the retreating Alpha with disbelief, and only spoke until it was completely gone. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. “He’s nice,” she snorted.

“It’s a very odd brand of charm,” Zacharie admitted behind a nervous laugh. “Oh well. Now that our dear friend is gone, let’s start with business. You said you’ve fought some spectres already, right?”

“Ah- yes. I didn’t expect them to be so-”

“Ruthless? Numerous?”

“…Strange looking.”

“Well, my wares will help with that.” The heavy bag slipped off his shoulders and landed on the ground with a large thud. He started rummaging through it, finally pulling out a single jar. Zacharie handed her a jar, filled to the lid with transparent fluid and ivory marbles. Some of the marbles had small fibers floating dreamily behind them, like kite-tails. One finally twisted to face her and the flood of fright slipped the jar from her hands. Expertly, Zacharie snatched it up before it hit the ground, chiding her with a playful  _tsk_. “That’ll be 20 Credits per Eye.”

“Those are real-” The words bubbled in her mouth when she looked at the crooked smile carved into the toad mask, “How did you get those?” When she was answered with silence, she let out a grumble, “Never mind. I’ll take the jar.”

He dropped the jar into her open pocket, which swallowed up the mass into nothing but air and emptiness. The moment the weight was gone, two slips of paper appeared in Zacharie’s outstretched hand, and he gave her a gleeful thanks. “Eyes are quite handy. One use and you’ll see all.”

“I bet. Anything else you suggest?”

“If you’ve got the credits, I’d suggest some armor for you and your Dummies. You won’t last long against the more powerful spectres.” A cold giggle was his only response to her bewildered look. “You didn’t think there’d just be a few kinds, did you?”

She hadn’t given it much thought. Any new Spectre was just something she had to purify, not part of a catalogue. “Armor,” she muttered past flushed cheeks.

“Of course! Better attack! Defense! Esprit! Agility! I’m not able to make you new Dummies, since they’re too rare, but I can make them a little more powerful. One hit, and they’re gone the way they are now. They’re stat boosters at 1HP a piece.”

“What are your strongest wares?”

He waved a finger at her, “Well, I only have what I can fit in my bag now. But on hand, for your Dummies, there is the Apple String and Cookie Wrapping-”

“I’ll take two.”

“You have 300 credits to spare?” The bills appeared in his palm and he shrugged. “Thank you. And let’s see here.” Setting his large backpack on the ground, he started digging through them, carefully placing aside intricately designed cards, packaged meat, more jars of eyes, enough that it made him look like he’d just gone hunting. Finally, he produced two small pieces of lime-green foil, and an equally neon length of stretchy string. “There we have it! I hope you enjoy-” He took one look at the disgruntled look on her face and quickly switched tactics. “…I’ll apply them, free of charge.” He worked like an artisan, very carefully undoing the wrapping and string and replacing them. 

“There we go!” he exclaimed, handing her back the Dummie. “All done and ready to use!”

“Thanks,” she muttered, testing out the Dummie by casually using it like a yo-yo. It was definitely a little heavier, but there was something more durable about it. 

“You don’t find my wares expensive?”

“Why? Are you overcharging?” She then sighed, “Don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.”

Zacharie started to pack up all his wares into his backpack, and lifted the entire thing over his shoulders with little exertion. “Well, if you don’t have anything else to buy, then I’ll be on my way. Oh, that’s right. Are you planning to attend the parade?”

She cocked her head. “Parade?”

Zacharie was grinning beneath his mask, she could just feel it. “Oh, you didn’t know? The Elsens of Nagnede have a parade once a month in the city square. It’s a huge spectacle. Balloons! Streamers! Confetti! The like.”

Well, that sounded like fun. She just hoped the weather managed to clear up a little bit, since the hanging mist made everything so dreary. “That would be a nice change of pace,” she admitted with her lips upturned. “When is it?”

“In about an hour. You might want to head over now, if you want to get a good seat. Good day.” Zacharie gave her a polite nod and walked out of the alleyway. She tried hopping after him, maybe to tease him a bit or two, but the moment she rounded the corner, he was nowhere in sight. 


End file.
